AAOOOSC! United

"What's The Fun Of Winning If Your Opponents Don't See You?"

Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
July 11, 2017
Early Afternoon

The next day, Michael and Carter are sitting at the countertop. Michael is scrutinizing the goalie's situation of his inflated jaw.

"Hmmm..." Michael has narrowed eyes at his injury while leaning toward it. "Can you at least ever so slightly open your mouth?"

A pathetic whine comes out from Carter's bright red lips.

He holds his hands toward him. "Does it still hurt?"

Carter gives him a thumbs-up.

"Oh!" His eyebrows shoot up. "So it doesn't hurt!"

The goalie flips his hand over, now signalling a thumbs-down.

"Wait, that's wrong, so it doesn't not hurt..." He peers up for a moment in his thoughts. "...so it hurts!"

Carter swings his hand back over as a thumbs-up.

"Wait, it's now better?"

With an irritated scowl coming over his face, Carter turns his thumb over and jabs it down multiple times.

He has knitted eyebrows at his actions. "Now it doesn't—"

"YOU'RE READING IT WRONG!" Carter roars, slamming his hands on the table. He holds his glower at him with his jaw now back to its original size.

The room falls into silence.

Suddenly, Connor scuttles to the end of the countertop with a joyful expression. "Did it work?" He halts behind his chair, grasping onto the top of its backrest.

Michael whirls around to face him. "What worked?"

"My reality manipulation." Connor lets go of the chair and rubs his hands together with a mischievous grin growing.

Carter's eyes widen with shock. "That's right! You can manipulate reality!"

"That's because I just did it for you to believe that." Connor adjusts the collar of his shirt with pride. "Carter, tell me—" He peers at him. "—did you get punched by Oettinger?"

A bewildered and annoyed expression comes across his face. "No." He crosses his arms. "He can never punch me. It's like fighting a puppy."

"And that's why your jaw is no longer broken." Connor finishes off in a whisper: "Because I changed reality."

Michael has awe-filled eyes at him. "Oh, yeah, this is great! Show another trick of yours!"

"Of course." Connor holds his hand out from his side.

Instantly, Auston saunters into the room with the same terracotta vase in his possession. He places it into Connor's outstretched hand.

Connor takes it and plunks it onto the countertop's surface.

Right on contact, jasmine flowers spring up from the vase, opening up their white bulbs with beauty.

"Ooo!" the other three explain.

Connor holds a closed smile at them. "Place this vase on this countertop and flowers of your choice will come out of it."

Michael plucks the vase from the countertop before setting next to him.

Instantly, the white, small flowers shift into large mauve-coloured tea roses.

The skater turns to Connor with glee. "These are my favourite!"

"That's what I said!" Connor tells him with a smirk. "But I just won't use my mastered powers to create a garden..." He pulls the vase back to him, reverting the flowers back to white jasmine. "...I'll use them to turn the odds of defeating the GHP and creating our dream reality toward us. Since with manipulating reality, I can also manipulate probability."

"YES!" Carter pumps his fists into the air. "CHL and NCAA, let's go!"

"So how are we going to execute this?" Auston asks, standing next to him with his hands clasped behind his back.

Connor turns to him. "Easy: we go into the GHP headquarters and manipulate reality right there." He whirls to the two sitting by the countertop. "They won't see it coming at all." He turns to face all three." They can strike us all they want, but I still have the keys to reality."

Carter has knitted eyebrows at him. "Why can't you just do it here?"

He frowns at him with crossed arms. "What's the fun of winning if your opponents don't see you?"

"Ah!" Auston's eyebrows rise. "We make it set and clear that they're done for."

Connor turns to him and nods his head. "That's right, Auston." He turns to the other two. "To make them know that we are running the scene now." He places his fingertips on the countertop's surface. "I want them to accept it with their own will rather than doing it myself. It's much more fun to watch them suffer like that."

Carter cracks his interlaced fingers with a smug smile at Connor. "I like that."

Michael chuckles lowly with an ominous grin before spinning in his stool to face Connor. "So when do we change their world for them?"

"The sooner the better." Connor places his hands on his hips with a haughty pose. A burgundy royal robe majestically materializes over his shoulders and down his back with an orange-coloured charm holding it over his shoulders. "We do it now."